Graduate Student 2014 Abstracts
Evaluating Stakeholders’ Interpretations of Corporate Sustainability Communications • Lauren Bayliss, University of Florida • As organizations turn their attention to improving sustainable practices, it becomes increasingly important to communicate those practices with stakeholders. However, in a diverse society, stakeholder perceptions of corporate sustainability communications may vary widely. Therefore, this study explores how stakeholders’ personal values influence their assessments of organizational values and reputation in the context of corporate sustainability communications. Using literature regarding corporate reputation, selective perception, and values theory, a framework is proposed for understanding the relationship among these constructs. It is proposed that stakeholder evaluations of reputation are influenced by the similarity or dissimilarity of organizational values to stakeholder values. Furthermore, in the case when values are not clearly identified in communications, it is proposed that stakeholders’ selective perception of an organization’s values will be influenced by the stakeholders’ own values. To explore this framework, a study was conducted in a controlled setting. Participants first reported their own values using the Short Schwartz’s Value Survey (Lindeman & Verkasalo, 2005). Then, after viewing corporate sustainability communication materials for fictitious companies, participants responded to surveys regarding the companies’ reputations and perceived values. The results were analyzed using a series of dependent samples t-tests and correlations. Several relationships were uncovered, including indications that participants may, in some cases, selectively perceive a company’s value priorities to be opposite to their own. Furthermore, certain reputations scale items were found to be related to particular values. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Ego, Engagement, and Exchange of Information: A Narcissistic Social Media Culture Can Save Watchdog Journalism • Ginger Blackstone, University of Florida • Utilizing social learning theory, this study presents a conceptual model with eight propositions that connects a narcissistic social media culture to the consumption of watchdog journalism through the mediator of online community building. Self-presentation and need to belong are moderators between the narcissistic social media culture and online community building; and affective appeal, internal locus of control, and civic engagement are the moderators between online community building and the consumption of watchdog journalism.
Molly Vs. Goliath: Studying the Relationship Between Social & Mass Media in Contemporary Social Activism • Kyle Brown, McMaster University • Historically, one of the greatest challenges facing social and political activists is the ability to deliver their message to the public. Due to constraints, such as a limited newshole and reliance on official sources in mass media, activist voices often fall on deaf ears. This study examines Molly Matchpole’s use of social media in a campaign against Bank of America, leveraging public support and mainstream media coverage, as she successfully halted the bank’s unfair fees.
Missing from the News: Local Coverage of Missing Persons’ Stories • Lindsey Conlin, The University of Alabama • News coverage of missing people has consistently focused on stories of young, attractive, upper-to-middle-class white women, known as Missing White Woman Syndrome. Research on this topic has generally compared the cases of missing white women to missing black women, leaving the literature lacking on how stories about all types of missing people are covered by journalists. The current study proposes sociological reasons for how stories about missing people are covered, and employs a content analysis to examine a large sample of local newspaper stories. Results show that journalists perceive stories about missing white women to be deviant, and that journalists integrate writing about missing people into their news routines. Implications for news coverage are discussed.
How The “Like Us On Facebook” Brand Strategy Fosters A Goal-Specific Virtual Identity: A Model • Naa Amponsah Dodoo, University of Florida • In total, the top five brands on Facebook have more than 500 million fans through the “like” Facebook button feature and yet research shows that about only 1% engage with the top brands on Facebook. This suggests that individuals have other underlying reasons for liking brands’ Facebook pages. To address the question of the latent motivations for liking brands on Facebook, a conceptual model that presents latent constructs of why individuals like the brand’s Facebook page either through the like button on Facebook or on the brand’s website is developed and described. This is termed in this paper as the “Like us on Facebook” brand strategy which refers to the use of the like button feature of Facebook by brands seeking to establish a social presence on Facebook. The proposed conceptual model is derived from and explained by literature sourced from social influence, socio-economic status, brand personality, self-congruity, self-disclosure and social identity to suggest that the “Like us on Facebook” brand strategy fosters a goal- specific virtual identity. In addition a typology of goal-specific virtual identity categorized into self-presentation, belonging and enlightened self-interest is explicated. Propositions testable through future research and implications of the model are offered.
Journalists as News Consumers: An Analysis of National Coverage of the Kermit Gosnell Trial • Thomas Gallagher, Temple University • This paper examines the changing relationship between producers of news and consumers of news. Employing a textual analysis of US national media coverage of the Kermit Gosnell trial in 2013, this paper reveals how social media provides opportunities for consumers of news to directly critique news coverage and how producers of news learn of stories to cover. Issues of political bias, moral decency and censorship, and race and class division also arise to influence unique coverage of the trial.
Traitor or a whistleblower: How newspapers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia framed Edward Snowden? • Nisha Garud, Ohio University • This study examined three newspapers — The New York Times, The Guardian and The Moscow Times — in the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia respectively to study how these newspapers framed Snowden. The study analyzed the content for frequency of news stories, story position, page position and frames. It was found that The New York Times used neutral descriptors for Snowden but framed him negatively in its stories. The Guardian framed Snowden positively, and The Moscow Times framed Snowden neutrally. Snowden was mostly called as a whistleblower or an NSA employee.
The Phantom of Walter Lippmann, and Walter Lippmann’s Phantom: Understanding Responses to Present Crises Facing Journalism • Nicholas Gilewicz, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania • This article comprises a critical review essay of a dozen books published about crises facing journalism from 2007 to the present. Reviewing these texts reveals the liminal position of journalists in the U.S. political economy—media observers appeal to the quasi-scientific expertise journalists claim, while also explicating journalists’ position as representing the voice of a wider public. This cognitive dissonance echoes the so-called “Lippmann-Dewey debates,” even as, a century on, “the public” has radically evolved.
Cultivating and Sustaining a Business’s Community of Practice: How Content Influences Responses on Facebook Pages • Ren-Whei Harn, University of Kansas • Content analysis was applied to examine wall posts themes on a business’s Facebook page and analyze the relationship between the theme and response type. Other characteristics such as visual content and acquisition of content were also recorded and analyzed in terms of frequency and effect on response type. This research took an interdisciplinary approach to understand interaction between a brand and its followers from the perspective of understanding the online user as a lifelong learner.
Nostalgic Advertising and Self-Regard • ILYOUNG JU • Viewers’ past memories and experiences are important indicators for generating positive self-regard. Issues relating to self-verification, loneliness, autobiographic memory, wistful attitude, psychological comfort, self-enhancement, and meaning in a life are addressed. The model offers propositions for the future research of nostalgic advertising. The present study will provide insightful implications for advertisers and marketers by analyzing people’s psychological process and intrinsic values rather than their extrinsic goals.
Motivated Exposure to Counter-attitudinal Information in an Online Political Forum • Sungmin Kang, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Does the structure of diverse information automatically expose Internet users to counter-attitudinal information? Are all Internet users embedded in the same structure compelled to receive attitude-inconsistent contents at the same level? A review of research on cross-cutting exposure aroused these critical questions. Using data collected from 341 participants in an online political forum, this study explored motivations for using online political forums and investigated the relationship between motivations and cross-cutting exposure. The first set of results employed Principle Component Analysis in order to identify factors for using online forum and identified four motivations: self-enhancing information seeking, comprehensive information seeking, pass time, and interpersonal interaction. By using those four motivations, the second set of results used hierarchical regression analysis that revealed comprehensive information seeking and interpersonal interaction were positively associated with cross-cutting exposure. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.
Exploring Motivations for Social Media Use and their Antecedents • Timothy Macafee • Social media allows individuals to engage in a variety of activities, some more laborious than others. People can seek and share information and they can communication with others. Examining the motivations for engaging in these behaviors is useful to uncover the utility of these sites. In addition, examining what factors drive motivations for using social media may uncover additional patterns to explain why people visit these sites. Using a two-study approach, including a convenience pilot study and a U.S. representative sample survey, the study suggests individuals’ motivations revolve around conversation and information exchange, and several demographic and attention to information factors relate to these motivations. The study is a preliminary look at the current state of motivations for using social media and antecedents to these motivations.
Framing cyberbullying in US mainstream media • Tijana Milosevic, American University • This study relies on content analysis of US mainstream print and TV coverage to explore how cyberbullying has been framed from 2006-2013, primarily in terms of who and what causes cyberbullying (causal responsibility) and which individuals, institutions and policies are responsible for taking care of the issue (treatment responsibility). Despite the rising frequency of this phenomenon, a comprehensive content-analysis of this kind has not yet been conducted. Based on research on episodic and thematic framing, this study finds that TV coverage is more episodic in nature- triggered by individual cyberbullying incidents- than the print coverage. Episodic frames focus attention on individuals rather than institutions or broader social forces, which are typically present in thematic frames. This finding has important implications for cyberbullying prevention: when issues are framed episodically audiences tend to attribute causal and treatment responsibility for issues to individuals involved in these incidents and not to institutions and society.
Hero, Traitor, Whistle Blower or Criminal? A Cross-Cultural Framing Analysis of the Edward Snowden Controversy • Michael Mirer, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Catasha Davis, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Alberto Orellana-Campos, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Hsun-Chih Huang; TZU-YU CHANG, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Edward Snowden’s leaks about the United States’ data collection efforts were a worldwide story in 2013. Newspapers around the world followed the story, but hardly spoke with one voice. Though some have argued for the emergence of global frames in media, this content analysis of coverage in six countries finds differences across a variety of dimensions. We argue that though information travels easily, meaning construction is still a localized process.
Media Portrayals of Hashtag Activism: A Framing Analysis of Canada’s #IdleNoMore Movement • Derek Moscato, University of Oregon • The confluence of activism and social media – legitimized by efforts such as the Arab Spring and Occupy Movements – represents a growing area of mainstream media focus. The ability of social media tools (such as Twitter’s hashtags) to diffuse and amplify information and ideas has afforded new media outreach opportunities for activists and advocates of various movements. The growing legitimacy of such movements invites more scrutiny of portrayals of these online causes by traditional media, and in particular the media framing of such movements. Using Canada’s recent #IdleNoMore movement as a case, this study uses framing theory to better understand how traditional media are representing activism born of social media such as Twitter. #IdleNoMore is an activist movement that launched in November 2012, focused on raising awareness of political, economic, social and environmental issues specific to Indigenous populations in Canada and internationally . A qualitative framing analysis is used to identify frames present in media reporting of #IdleNoMore during its first two months by two prominent Canadian publications, Maclean’s magazine and the Globe and Mail newspaper. While these frames often serve the purpose of a media outlet’s mandate — to report, to mediate, to debate, to entertain or to take a political or economic position — they can also leverage the efforts of activists by providing history and context while also widening perspectives.
Motivations for Instagram Use: A Q-Method Analysis • Rachel Nielsen, Brigham Young University; Mindy Weston • As a relatively new medium, Instagram has been neglected in the scholarly realm. This exploratory research seeks to understand what types of people use Instagram and what these users perceive as their motivations for Instagram use. A Q-method analysis revealed four archetypal Instagram users and perceived motivations for Instagram use that include fulfilling social needs, seeking out entertainment, finding or sharing information, and engaging in a user-friendly format and a positive social environment.
The Antecedents of Interactive Loyalty through a Structural Equation Model • Anthony Palomba • Consumers engage in video game consoles by playing video games or accessing alternative entertainment options through them. Brand loyalty towards video game consoles may have several antecedents. Gender, genre of video games and network externality may impact brand loyalty, mediated by perceptions of video game console brand personalities. This study investigated these relationships by conducting a principal component factor analysis and testing a structural equation model.
Factors affecting CSR evaluation: Type of CSR and Consumer Characteristics • Young Eun Park, Indiana University; Hyunsang Son, University of Texas • This study, employing survey method with actual U.S. consumers rather than student samples, investigates the relationship between specific types of CSR activities (human rights, environment, labor conditions, anti-corruption) and consumers’ demographic (age, gender, and income) and psychological (involvement, need for uniqueness, and innovativeness) traits to anticipate consumers’ evaluation of CSR and behavioral intention (intention to subscribe telecommunication service). Results indicate involvement and need for uniqueness are positively related to CSR evaluation and subscription intention.
Added in Translation: Adapting Hollywood Movies to Bollywood • Enakshi Roy, Ohio University • This study uses the theoretical framework of Glocalization to compare three popular Hollywood movies Mrs. Doubtfire, Fatal Attraction and Patch Adams to their adapted versions which were made in Bollywood. The study uses textual analysis to examine the movies. It was found that family structure, emotions, religion, construction of a normative narrative and songs were used as cultural signifiers and were inserted in the storyline to make the movies acceptable to the Indian audiences. Moreover, within the familial set-up, an authoritarian patriarchal character was introduced to make the movies relatable to the Indian context.
Journalistic Values, A Concept Explication: Personal and Professional Norms, Entrepreneurship, and Media Innovation • Frank Michael Russell, University of Missouri/Missouri School of Journalism • Digital distribution has allowed entrepreneurs and innovators to capture revenues that traditionally supported journalism. In response, scholars have argued that journalists must become entrepreneurs. This paper offers an explication of “journalistic values.” A definition of journalistic values is offered as those ideal behaviors and beliefs that are commonly held by individual journalists in a culture. This proposed definition is discussed in the context of implications for research involving entrepreneurial journalism and media innovation.
Silicon Valley and Hollywood: Newspaper Coverage of Regional Business Clusters • Frank Michael Russell, University of Missouri/Missouri School of Journalism • This study examined coverage of Silicon Valley technology companies and Hollywood entertainment companies in the San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. It found support for a connection between the presence of a strong regional industrial agglomeration such as Silicon Valley or Hollywood and business news content—and for an interest regardless of location in covering large technology companies, particularly Apple, Google, and Facebook, that are known as experienced frame-makers.
Tweeting Through the Good and the Bad: An Examination of the Spiral of Silence in the Age of Twitter • Annelie Schmittel, University of Florida; Kevin Hull, University of Florida • Researchers have examined how fan reactions change based on team success, but updated literature is lacking in the age of social media. This paper addresses how fans used Twitter during a rivalry game, and if the spiral of silence remains an appropriate framework when fans are online. Results demonstrate that fans do not go silent if their team is losing, and that traditionally recognized methods of celebration and disappointment are not occurring on Twitter.
Geoengineering: The Fate of the World or Humankind? A Framing Analysis • Yulia A. Strekalova; Angela Colonna • This study is a qualitative framing analysis that assessed the dominant frames of geoengineering in major U.S. newspapers then compared these frames to dominant U.K. frames found in a past study. A total of 48 articles were analyzed from a database of major American newspapers. The study found four dominant U.S. frames on geoengineering, and an overlap of the U.S. frames with the U.K. frames with subtle but distinct differences.
Stigmatizing Content and Missing Messages in Anti-Stigma PSAs on Mental Illness • Roma Subramanian, University of Missouri • Guided by the conceptual framework of stigma, a textual analysis of anti-mental illness stigma PSAs produced by prominent mental health organizations in this country over the past decade was conducted. It was found that the PSAs focused on changing individual- level attitudes toward stigma and ignored issues of structural stigma. The study raises questions about how the different forms of stigma interact, which in turn has implications for the design of anti-stigma interventions.
Mobile Health Apps Use: The Role of Ownership, Health Efficacy and Motivation • Yen-I Lee, Bowling Green State University; Dinah Tetteh, Bowling Green State University • This study explored motivation, health efficacy, mobile phone ownership, and demographic elements as factors to help predict use of mobile health apps among college students and the general population. Surveying participants from the Midwest United States, we found that ownership of mobile devices was not a predictor of health app use for both populations and that health efficacy was a predictor of health app use for the general population but not for the student population.
Melted: Iceland’s Failed Experiment with Radical Transparency • A.Jay Wagner • As information continues to digitize, governments are rethinking their information policies, from intellectual property to transparency. These reconsiderations are closely related to Appadurai’s notion that the strength of the nation-state is diminishing in the globalized world, with cultures moving to a more influential position. In the wake of a catastrophic financial collapse, Iceland adopted a slate of progressive media laws set to invert traditional ideas of government accountability. The laws taken together act as the reification of digital libertarian principles as proselytized by digital pioneer John Perry Barlow. The digital libertarian movement evolved out of the 60s U.S. counterculture as a response to the mass society of their parents’ generation. Closely tied with the tenets of Stewart Brand, his Whole Earth Catalog, and the Bay Area hippie scene, the nascent movement stressed finding personal fulfillment through independence. The following generation shared a distrust in authority, but also a skepticism of the counterculture’s idealism. Instead of fearing uniformity, they saw mass surveillance as their primary threat, and they looked to establish accountable measures to ward off increased state obstruction. This past spring, playing on a slow to rebound króna, the centrist Progressive Party would sweep into government and begin unraveling the populist gains. This paper explores Iceland’s experimentation with digital libertarianism, the concept’s cultural path, and its ultimate failure, while considering the political manipulation that assured that neither IMMI nor the populist constitution would ever be fully ratified, but instead used as another device of placation.
The Cognitive and Affective Effects of Country-of-Origin: How Consumers Process Country-of-Assembly and Country-of-Design for High and Low Involvement Products • Linwan Wu; ILYOUNG JU • A study was conducted to investigate how COA and COD information is processed by consumers for high and low involvement products. Results indicated that COA was more likely to be processed cognitively, while COD tended to be processed affectively. For high involvement products, the only presentation of COD with a positive image elicited the most favorable affective product evaluation. For low involvement products, no difference of cognitive product evaluation was detected.
To Approve or to Protest: The Influence of Internet Use on the Valence of Political Participation in Authoritarian China • Jun Xiang, The Univeristy of Arizona • Advances in technology have changed the way citizens participate in politics. Using latest data as part of the Asian Barometer, this paper explores the influence of the Internet use on the valence of political participation in authoritarian China. Specifically, this research explores whether use of the Internet correlates with lower levels of election participation as a way to approve, and higher levels of activism participation as a way to protest. This research also examines whether there are indirect effects of Internet use through trust in the Chinese government on the valence of political participation. Finally, the study examines whether these indirect effects vary by levels of satisfaction with democracy in current China. Results show indirect effects of Internet use through trust in government in both election participation and activism participation. This paper also shows that satisfaction with democracy moderated the indirect effects of Internet use.
